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Tripathi updates PSS on budget crisis
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“About $39 million has been cut from UB out of that $266 million…That’s very close to 20 percent of the state support that comes to UB.”
Provost Satish K. Tripathi opened his address to the Professional Staff Senate on Thursday with a statement attesting to the seriousness of UB’s financial straits: His presentation to the group would be the third he had given that day on the budget.
“I’m going to give you a very brief history of the budget in the last 18 months, just to put the matter straight,” Tripathi began. “Last April, May, SUNY got about a $50 million budget cut. Then, July, August—during the mid-year cut last year—we had a $96 million budget cut for SUNY. Then April, May again, we had a $30 million budget cut for SUNY, and then a mid-year cut for $90 million that was announced in October. So, if you add that up, that’s about a $266 million budget cut so far.”
“About $39 million has been cut from UB out of that $266 million...[That’s] very close to 20 percent of the state support that comes to UB,” Tripathi said.
Over the past year and a half, UB has dealt with reductions by making “selective and strategic cuts,” delivering services more efficiently while attempting to enhance educational quality and protect research, the provost said. Among other measures, UB has left positions vacant and directed units across the university to cut their budgets.
In New York, options for coping with the crisis are limited. Most of the revenue from recent tuition increases has gone to the state general fund instead of directly to colleges and universities, limiting the effectiveness of such hikes in closing budget gaps within SUNY.
Higher education institutions elsewhere have implemented furloughs, a tool not available to SUNY, the provost said. These forced vacations provide short-term savings, amounting, in essence, to a temporary pay cut for employees. At some universities, including ones in California, the number of unpaid days workers must take off varies by salary, with top-earners taking longer furloughs than colleagues who make less money.
As for future cuts, “We could be dealing with another $15 to $20 million next year, in addition to what we’re going through right now,” Tripathi said. Unfunded mandates, such as utilities inflation and negotiated salary increases, would contribute to UB’s troubles.
Tripathi’s conversation with professional staff included other sobering news. When one questioner asked whether UB was considering withdrawing support for WBFO 88.7 FM, its National Public Radio affiliate, the provost said, “Not selling the station, that’s not on the table. But we are looking at everything we do, not just at WBFO and the subsidy that we provide. And we are looking at all of those things to see why we provide the subsidy and what are our options...WBFO is not the only thing. We’re looking at everything.”
The provost said raising tuition could help the university make it through the economic downturn, especially if the state returns a larger share of increases to SUNY institutions. For some professional programs, increasing enrollment could help generate new revenues.
Tripathi said one of the most important ways that staff can help UB weather the economic crisis is to understand that members of the university community must work together to cope with cuts. Responding to a question about whether any departments at UB are on “probationary status,” the provost responded, “I don’t know what that means. I don’t think any departments are...None of the departments are on any kind of probationary period. Everybody’s permanent.”
Tripathi said he does not see a hard hiring freeze as part of the solution for cuts because it would prevent the university from allocating funds based on priorities. He emphasized that while budget problems might determine how quickly UB can move forward with plans for improving everything from academics to facilities, the institution is not relinquishing its aspirations.
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